Eucalyptus is such an amazing aromatic plant. The health benefits of this plant have been known for thousands of years. The essential oil comes from the fresh leaves of the tall, evergreen eucalyptus tree, scientifically classified as Eucalyptus Globulus.

Native to Australia, this awesome tree has spread throughout other parts of the world. The major benefits of eucalyptus are shown below in the image. It's such a great substitute for toxic inhalants or topical chest ointments (e.g. Vicks VapoRub).

I like to keep the essential oil in the house as a great inhalant when stuffed up from a cold. Great to have handy, especially if you have children.

I use a dark glass spray bottle and fill it with half of each. Spray a few times in the morning and night before applying moisturizer and night cream (I use Ava Anderson Non-Toxic's SPF Moisturizer during the day and the eye cream for night). It helps smooth it out and refreshes the face.

I'm going to preface this blog post by stating that I am NOT a physician nor do I care to be one. I am passionate about holistic nutrition and using natural supplements and remedies to combat illnesses and diseases. I do not prescribe any medication, but I take full advantage of the freedom of having my opinions based on research.

On that note...here we go.

Many people have asked for my advice on how to treat ADHD naturally to avoid medications such as Ritalin or Adderall for their children.

In the past decade, the diagnosis for ADHD/ADD for school-aged children has risen tremendously. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, child prescriptions for ADHD drugs jumped 50% from 2002 to 2012.

I often get asked what supplements I use. I don't get paid to promote a brand (although I wish I did), but I use the products that I've researched and think are best for my body based on ingredients, methods of manufacturing and quality.

I've been putting off this blog post for over a month, but now that I've seen over 10 infographics on this, it's time to write about this very popular and dangerous subject.

The Problem

There is so much research that has accumulated showing the negative affects of aspartame and artificial sweeteners on our bodies. But even so, people still opt for their regular Diet Coke or coffee with Splenda, Sweet 'N Low or NutraSweet thinking they are going for the "healthier" choice.

I know you've heard it a hundred times, but watching what we eat is really important. I know people who count calories, check carbs, monitor sugar grams or fat content. The main element to focus on are the ingredients.

Don't be so worried about how many calories you're intaking a day. Instead, focus on where your calories are coming from. The source of the calories are more important than you know. They affect your energy level, nutrition deficiencies, health and weight.

Those ingredients typically carry the highest carb load, sugar content, fat content and calories. I stumbled on a great article that showed the distribution of food and how important it is to watch what you eat.

Courtesy of my awesome neighbor and friend, I have a new easy and health snack I want to share. The other day, we had a dinner party and she brought kale chips. They were a huge hit and absolutely delish!

So when she came to my craft day on Sunday, I went ahead and made them with her direction =).

Here's how easy it is to make:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash kale and put on a flat baking pan
3. Add EVOO, Himalayan salt (or sea salt), black pepper, fresh chopped garlic, and mix together with your hands.
4. Place in oven for 10 minutes and then turn the kale over
5. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until crispy. Optional: Add a little lemon juice
6. Eat and enjoy!

While researching online, I came across probably the best food pyramid I've ever seen. I truly believe it is the most balanced one that has all the right items in order.

When you eat according to this chart, you'll feel better and even lose weight. When you eat like our society does, it's usually upside down and fats, dairy, sugar and medical pills (instead of supplements) get the best of you.

What makes up this glue? Transglutaminase - it's an enzyme that creates a bond between two different proteins (hence, why it works perfectly with meat). They happen to take the clotting agent out of pig and cow blood in order to clot together pieces of meat.

Aside from it being gross, why is it unsafe?
Well, the FDA has actually regulated this practice as "safe", however, the real problem lies in the meat. When meat travels from the farm to the plant and finally to the store (or restaurant), it has developed and grown bacteria on the outside of the meat. When you grill or cook the meat, the outside bacteria is usually killed and the inside of the meat remains sterile.

Now, when you take two extra pieces of meat and glue them together, you have the outside of two pieces of meat inside with bacteria. This means that the inside will no longer be clean and will leave it open to E. coli outbreaks or food illness even after it has been cooked.

Why is it used?
Because stores and restaurants can charge you more money for a fillet mignon or a steak, than for beef stew or scrap meat pieces that are not the choice parts. They can manufacture fillet mignon, or pretty much anything, using meat glue. The cost can go from a $4.00 p/lb of stew meat to $25.00 p/lb for choice glued meat.

Read ingredients and where it comes from. This is from 6 countries! I wonder what put it together...

How can I avoid meat glue?
Aside from becoming a vegetarian, another way to avoid this is to purchase grass fed or organic meat. If it's local, even better. Read labels (look at the image above. Even if they didn't use meat glue, I wouldn't recommend eating that). Always ask, especially at restaurants.

Some restaurants stay far from it, but others, like Wylie Dufrense of Manhattan's WD-50, are more than thrilled to use it for creative ways to invent new recipes. In Meat Paper, it describes how Wylie has "concocted all manner of playful and bizarre food products with meat glue, including shrimp spaghetti, which he made by mixing salt, cayenne, deveined shrimp, and meat glue in a blender."

If you watch the video below, it will give you an overview of how this is done.

Simple cancer remedies that can give you a fighting chanceBy: Dr. Veronique DesaulniersThough cancer can be seen as a very complex illness, it is important to
understand that cancer is simply the "symptom" and the tip of the ice
berg. For your body to allow cancer cells to take root and multiply,
there had to be a weakened immune system, toxicity of many kinds and
nutritional deficiencies.

Last week, I picked up my farmer's seasonal box at Homegrown Co-op and it contained an eggplant. I knew immediately that one of the meals I was making this week was Eggplant Parmesan. Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes.

For those that have never made it, it's super easy and delicious!

The first time I ever made it, I documented it and listed the recipe here on my blog.

This week I was sent to great articles that are good easy reads. I love numbered or bullet-pointed articles because they let me read quickly and get a good overview of the text in general. These however, you may want to read in detail.

I've been given several excuses for not eating organic or healthy: "it's too expensive"and "it doesn't taste good"are the two most frequent responses.

My reply:

1. "It's too expensive" = Medical insurance and prescription drugs for heart medication, cholesterol, diabetes, colds, blood pressure (and the list can go on) are much more expensive on a monthly basis, especially considering the number of American's on medical drugs on a daily basis. This is not to mention that a healthy lifestyle and regiment can actually get rid of most of these.

2. "It doesn't taste good" = Well not after you're used to eating a starchy, high sodium and high sugar diet. Sugar can last on your tongue up to 10 days and anything you eat during that time needs to be as sweet or sweeter in order for you to think it tastes good. Try getting away from all sugars for a couple weeks then take a bite out of an apple. It will never have tasted better!